FBI special agent charged with sexually assaulting 2 women
ABC News
(BETHESDA, MD) — An FBI special agent has been arrested in Montgomery County, Maryland, and stands accused of sexually assaulting two women, according to police.
Special Agent Eduardo Valdivia, 40, is charged with 10 counts, including two counts of second-degree rape.
According to court records, the alleged attacks took place in May 2024 and September 2024.
Valdivia is in custody in the Montgomery County Correctional Facility and is scheduled to appear for a bond hearing in district court on Tuesday.
“The FBI takes allegations of criminal violations and misconduct very seriously. We are aware of the matter involving the recent arrest of an FBI employee and are fully cooperating with the Montgomery County Police Department,” the FBI’s Washington Field Office said in a statement to ABC News.
“Regarding the employment of Eduardo Valdivia, he is currently suspended pending the conclusion of the Montgomery County Police Department investigation,” the statement said.
Valdivia was previously charged with attempted murder in a 2020 off-duty shooting after a verbal exchange on a Metro train car. The incident was captured by security cameras.
A jury in Montgomery County found Valdivia not guilty in that case after a trial in 2022.
(NEW YORK) — In a now-deleted video posted to Instagram, Selena Gomez appeared in tears over the deportation of Mexican people as President Donald Trump’s mass deportation operation takes effect.
“I just wanted to say that I’m so sorry. All my people are getting attacked, the children,” Gomez said between sobs in her initial post. “I don’t understand. I’m so sorry. I wish I could do something but I can’t. I don’t know what to do.”
The video was accompanied with the text, “I’m sorry,” followed by an emoji of a Mexican flag.
The singer closed with an emotional promise that she would “try everything” to help.
Screenshots have also circulated of a subsequent Instagram story that has since been deleted, in which Gomez wrote, “Apparently it’s not ok to show empathy for people” and indicated receiving backlash for her emotional video.
Sam Parker, a 2018 Republican Senate candidate from Utah, reacted to Gomez’s video with an X post that read, “Deport Selena Gomez,” which is now pinned to his profile.
In response, Gomez turned back to Instagram stories and wrote, “Oh Mr. Parker, Mr. Parker. Thanks for the laugh and the threat.”
ABC News has reached out to Sam Parker for comment.
Born in Texas, Gomez is of Mexican descent and has proudly spoken out about her heritage. In 2021 following the release of her debut Spanish EP, Revelación, she starred in a short film as part of the Artist Spotlight Stories in which she detailed her Mexican identity and family history.
“I wanted to share my story because I’m very proud of who I am,” she said in the video. “As a Mexican woman, I’ve learned so much and continue to learn so much.”
Gomez also recently starred in “Emilia Perez,” a musical film depicting the story of a fictional Mexican drug cartel that was nominated for 13 Oscars on Thursday.
Trump has long vowed to secure the border and conduct mass deportations. On the first day of his administration, he declared a national emergency at the southern border and signed an executive order seeking military assistance to fulfill this mission.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday that her country has received 4,094 migrants, most of whom are Mexican nationals, deported from the U.S. since Jan. 20.
On Sunday, Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz that military aircraft will be utilized daily and promised to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history.
In response to Gomez’s video, Homan told Fox News on Monday that he has “no apologies” and remained steadfast in his commitment to enforcing the deportation operations.
“I don’t think we’ve arrested any families. We’ve arrested public safety threats and national security threats, bottom line,” Homan added. “It is all for the good of this nation, and we’re gonna keep going,” he said.
“Deportation flights have begun,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X on Friday, attaching photos of handcuffed migrants filing into a military aircraft.
Trump also said Friday that the deportations were “going very well.”
Ahead of planned deportations, Mexico’s foreign secretary had advised Mexicans in the U.S. to not open their doors for law enforcement unless necessary.
“If [migration authorities] knock on your door, ask them to show you a warrant and put it under the door. They can’t enter a house if they don’t have a warrant from a judge,” said Juan Ramón de la Fuente, Mexico’s foreign secretary, emphasizing each individual’s right to remain silent.
With 422 million followers, Gomez is the #1 most followed woman on Instagram.
Gomez has spoken out politically in the past. In 2020, she engaged in a video interview with then-Senator Kamala Harris, discussing the importance of voting and supporting mental health initiatives.
Among Gomez’s activism efforts include campaigns and initiatives with UNICEF, as well as her makeup brand’s Rare Impact Fund which advocates for mental health services and education.
(LITTLE ROCK, Ark.) — Shots rang out at the Park Plaza Mall in Little Rock, Arkansas, on Black Friday, leaving three people injured, police said.
The shooting occurred at 1:44 p.m., according to the Little Rock Police Department. The three people who were hurt have injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening, according to police.
Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. released a statement after the shooting, saying there are two suspects.
“Two individuals today jeopardized the lives and safety of residents and visitors,” Scott Jr. said Friday.
“We are praying for the victims of this incident, and are hopeful they make a full recovery,” he added.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Luigi Mangione is seen inside the police station in Altoona, Pennsylvania, Dec. 9, 2024/Obtained by ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Luigi Mangione has been indicted in New York for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the grand jury has upgraded charges to first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Mangione, 26, is also charged with: two counts of second-degree murder, one of which is charged as killing as an act of terrorism; two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree; four counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree; one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree; and one count of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree.
The slaying in the heart of Midtown Manhattan was “intended to evoke terror,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said at a news conference.
Mangione is accused of gunning down Thompson outside a hotel on Dec. 4 as the CEO headed to an investors conference.
“This type of premeditated, targeted gun violence cannot and will not be tolerated,” Bragg said in a statement Tuesday.
In Pennsylvania, where Mangione remains in custody, he faces charges including allegedly possessing an untraceable ghost gun.
He is expected to waive extradition from Pennsylvania during his next court appearance on Thursday, sources said.
Mangione has hired Karen Friedman Agnifilo as his lawyer in New York. She was a 25-year veteran of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and its second in command for eight years.
Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 9 after nearly one week on the run.
When Mangione was apprehended, he had a 9 mm handgun with a 3D-printed receiver, a homemade silencer, two ammunition magazines and live cartridges, prosecutors said.
Thompson’s murder ignited online anger at the health insurance industry. Many people online have celebrated the suspect and some have donated to a defense fund for Mangione.
“There is no heroism in what Mangione did. This was a senseless act of violence,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at Tuesday’s news conference.
“Any attempt to rationalize this is vile, reckless and offensive to our deeply held principles of justice,” she said.
“Just a cold-blooded, horrible killing,” President-elect Donald Trump said at a news conference Monday.
“It’s really terrible that some people seem to admire him, like him,” Trump said.
“It seems that there’s a certain appetite for him. I don’t get it,” Trump added.
Sources said writings police seized from Mangione suggest he was fixated on UnitedHealthcare for months and gradually developed a plan to kill the CEO.
Among the writings recovered from Mangione was a passage that allegedly said, “What do you do? You whack the CEO at the annual parasitic bean-counter convention,” according to law enforcement officials.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
